The cooperative sector in India, encompassing over 8.32 lakh registered cooperative societies with more than 32.8 crore members as per the most recent National Cooperative Database, is at a pivotal juncture. These societies operate across some 30 sectors ranging from housing, dairy, agriculture, credit modernize primary cooperatives through technology, capacity building, and financial reforms; enact governance reforms to educe political interference and increase accountability; foster networks and institutional linkages (between cooperatives, FPOs, MSMEs) to achieve economies of scale; and promote inclusive and sustainable cooperative enterprises that advance social equity while responding to market dynamics. These reforms are not only necessary for cooperatives to retain relevance but essential for them to act as engines of economic development, social cohesion, and empowerment in the coming decade.
Kanchanlata Sinha Dharmendra Kumar (Mon,) studied this question.